PEAVY TO CUBS HEATS UP

Oh let it be so! Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says that the Cubs have emerged as the frontrunners in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes. And they are also working on re-signing Ryan Dempster, in addtion to Peavy:

Even though the Cubs are for sale, team officials apparently believe that they can absorb the four years and $63 million remaining on Peavy’s contract while committing at least $50 million to Dempster over the same term.

The only problem I have with the article is that Rosenthal does not name any potential players in the deal. Maybe because the Cubs farm system is mostly bereft of quality prospects.

If anyone out there can give me a clue as to what the Cubs would offer, I’d love to hear it. Because as much as I want Peavy to head a rotation that would include himself and Zambrano, Harden, Lilly and Dempster, I just don’t see what the Cubs have for the Padres–who are trying to reduce payroll.

Posted by admin on Thursday, November 6, 2008 at 10:34 am Filed under Cubs, Hot Stove · Tagged with

PV

Well, the usual suspects come to mind of course, Pie & Marshall…but thinking about it, I wonder if Smardzija (can never spell it) has to be part of it for it to happen…

http://zonersports.com The Zoner

The problem with that is he inexplicably has a no-trade clause; which isn’t to say he wouldn’t waive it.

He would be going to a pitcher’s park and a warm weather city. But on the flip he is from Valpo. Who knows.

Schmidty

I heard some rumors that in order for the Pad’s to get the level of prospects they’re looking for, they’d have to eat a share of Peavy’s salary. That may not be attractive to them, hence they may have to deal for a package of lesser talent in order for the other team to absorb the entire salary. All speculation obviously. It’d be nice to have him but, hell, I’d love to find someone who can make contact with the baseball when the playoffs come around, LOL!

dhaab

NO WAY in hell do the Cubs have a chance of getting Peavy. NONE.

The Cubs have become the Yankees of the offseason rumor mill. Any high profile player that is available is automatically connected to the Cubs in some way.

Move along, nothing to see here.

One more thing, I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that Dempster is in the Cubs rotations next year.

http://zonersports.com The Zoner

I couldn’t agree with you more. As for Dempster, I would say it’s more likely than not that he will be back. And I’m not sure if that is a good thing.

JKDilla

Peavy only said the Cubs would be one of the teams he’d OK a trade.

Mikeo

I heard ONE small rumor about Adrian Gonzalez for D Lee. I don’t know if that has anything to do with a Peavy trade, but it makes sense all by itself. Lee is from So-Cal and the Pads need solid veteran leadership that a guy like Lee can provide. He still has some decent production left. He was drafted by the Pads in the first place, maybe he ends his career in SD?

If the Pads did a two-player deal it may look like this:
SD sends Peavy and Gonzalez
CHI sends D-Lee, Sean Marshall, Micah Hoffpauir and Angel Guzman.

Just a thought. I already know that I am dreaming dhaab.

dhaab

Not sure why the Pads would want to trade a younger, possibly better version of Derrek Lee who they’re already getting the services of for much less money. The other reason why that trade wouldn’t make much sense for San Diego is they’ve been pretty upfront about wanting to shed payroll. It’s the main reason why they’re trying to get rid of Peavy.

Face it, Cubs fans. Your team has a bunch of gargantuan contracts that make much of your core players almost untradeable.

http://zonersports.com The Zoner

Lee has just 2 years left on his deal, but basically you are right. If the Pads want the Cubs to eat some salary, that could be a factor. But I was looking at the Pads’ salaries and they really don’t have much to cut!